Sonae Sierra sees net profit jump to €60m in first nine months

International privately held shopping centre specialist Sonae Sierra saw its net profit reach €59.8 mln in the first nine months of 2014, up from €5.1 mln in the year-earlier period.

Direct profit amounted to €36.0 mln in the first three quarters, representing a 16% drop on the same period in 2013 largely due to asset disposals in Europe, the adverse variation in the average exchange rate of the Brazilian Real, and the strengthening of the corporate structure to support the company's growth in new markets.

Indirect profit came in at €23.8 mln, compared to a loss of €37.6 mln in the same period in 2013, mostly as a result of yield compression in Europe, an improved operational performance by the European and Brazilian assets and the positive impact of a number of disposals.

Tenant sales in the European portfolio were up 4.2% on a like-for-like basis compared to the same period in 2013, led by 6.8% growth in Portugal and 3.9% in Italy.

'The first nine months of the year were marked by Sonae Sierra's continued international expansion and improvement of operational performance,' commented Sonae Sierra's CEO Fernando Guedes de Oliveira. 'The third quarter also confirmed the recovery trend in tenant sales, both in Europe and Brazil, as well as the positive performance of our shopping centres' occupancy rates.'

The company has also continued its international expansion with its entry into China, Morocco and Russia so far this year. In Russia Sonae Sierra recently launched a 50/50 joint-venture with Ost Development for the provision of property management and leasing services.